§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the current sponsors of action for community employment schemes in Northern Ireland, indicating the number of action for community employment places and tasks undertaken in each case.
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§ Mr. ViggersInformation in the form requested could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. There are currently some 500 sponsors providing over 6,000 jobs throughout Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will indicate the amounts of money allocated to the action for community employment programme in Northern Ireland, outlining the means by which the use of such money is monitored and evaluated.
§ Mr. Viggers£106.31 million has been made available since the scheme was introduced in 1981. All applications from potential ACE sponsors are carefully scrutinised to ensure that they satisfy the aims and objectives of the scheme and regular on site inspections of projects are carried out. Expenditure on the ACE programme is evaluated through surveys and through monitoring against annual cost per job target.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will detail the Government's plans for the action for community employment programme in Northern Ireland indicating the type of work, scheme or area which will have priority.
§ Mr. ViggersThe overall objective is to sustain an average of at least 6,200 jobs in the current financial year. Priority is given to projects which are likely to promote the creation or development of longer term jobs and to those which provide services for disadvantaged groups and jobs for the unskilled. Priority is also given to projects in areas where ACE provision is relatively low in relation to the local incidence of long-term unemployment.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement indicating what role he envisages for the action for community employment programme in relation to the care in the community policies promoted in Northern Ireland's strategic plans for health and social services.
§ Mr. ViggersThe Department of Health and Social Services "Regional Planning Guidelines 1987–1992" put forward a strategy for the development of community care which is long-standing and will proceed independently of the ACE programme. It is, however, estimated that about one third of ACE places are currently engaged in "community care" activities.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Department of Economic Development maintains a list or other records of current action for community employment.
§ Mr. ViggersYes, manual records are kept in respect of each ACE sponsor and it is hoped to computerise these in the very near future.